Defender of the bubbles

I am starting to build up a small collection of finer Champagnes, i.e. Cristal, Krug, Dom, VC LGD, etc. These are mostly younger 2002, 2004, 2006 vintages which I need to keep my hands off.

What cellar defender sparklers do you drink to keep your hands off your good stuff?

Bollinger special cuvée

Definitely for special occasions Pol Roger Winston Churchill cuvee. I also keep Krug Grand Cuvee for when friends drop by and my new favorite is Tattinger CdC .

Thanks, Michael. I love these wines as well, but what bubbles do you drink to keep these special occasion wines intact in your cellar?

Thanks, Carlos - a great thread driven by what Envoyer is currently offering. I am interested in what are folks own favorite bubble defenders as well.

^ Agreement here. I would personally add Henri Goutorbe Brut Millesime.

Hard to find a better QPR than Pierre Peters.

Also picked up a case of Taittinger Reserve for $35 which has some aged champers blended in (3 years according to their website).

Lots of good threads on this, and people more knowledgeable than me. For me it’s less about keeping hands off luxury cuvees (because I don’t keep them and rarely get one!) but more just about finding value in an expensive category. I enjoy:

• Agrapart 7 Crus - fresh style, racy and lovely
• Le Mesnil Grand Cru BdB NV - Mesnil’s coop produces this and I really enjoy it for under $40 in the somewhat rich, toasty, autolytic style while still maintaining freshness.
• Ployez-Jacquemart NV - again in a fresher style but I’m finding this develops some complexity with a bit of time int he cellar.
• Pierre Peters Cuvee Reserve - Excellent BdB, but not the value it once was.
• Billiot NV - I see this as the BdN counterpoint to Pierre Peters in style, quality, and price.
• Jose Dhondt Mes Vieilles Vignes (vintage) - this and the NV are both very good IMO

Thanks for the great responses! If enough folks post their 2-3 bubble defenders in this thread, I might summarize the total number of recommendations for each and post resuits in the OP.

Joe,

The wines I go to when I’m trying to keep my hands off of the more expensive stuff include:

NV René-Henri Coutier; my favorite; a crazy value
'00 and '02 Lanson Noble Cuvée; a tete du cuvée for half the price of most others
NV Marc Hébrart Blanc de Blancs Brut 1er Cru; another crazy value
The whole spectrum of Philipponnat. I love their NV Brut Non-Dosé and it’s inexpensive. The 1522 is fantastic, but pricier and harder to find.

For Rosé:

NV Paul Dethune Brut Rosé; my other house wine in addition to the Coutier BdB
NV Camille Savès Grand Cru Brut Rosé Bouzy
NV Vilmart Cuvée Rubis

Some other great values I own and enjoy:

Jose Dhondt
José Michel
Edmond Barnaut
Goutorbe, esp the rosé
The NV Vilmart Grande Réserve is another great value.

Cheers,
Warren

Addendum: these too:

If limited to picking two: Coutier BdB and Dethune rosé. and Saves rosé. and Vilmart rosé. and…

Jacquesson - currently the 740. Barnaut Blanc de Noirs.

Thanks, Warren - lot’s of great suggestions for me to try!
Thanks, Merrill - I have heard Jacquesson was a great wine and I like the numbering scheme.

I have always liked the Jacquesson numbered series Merrill, but they have gotten really expensive for what they are. Used to be a $30-35 bottle. At $60, it is less special

The CT entries insinuate their drinking windows are fairly lengthy for some of the years…has anyone seem them age well?

Depends on the style you like? Racy, mineral; Rich and creamy; complex (lots of time on lees)? Some are steely zero dosage (almost sparkling chablis), or higher end of brut (9-10 grams of sugar)? And areas matter too, PNs from Reims is different to that of the Aube…

Champagne is perhaps the most complex region with changes happening with every area/grower in each vintage…Theres no simple answer.

+1 and add Egly-Ouriet VP

I loaded up at around $45/bottle recently. I don’t know anything much about Champagne. Or about anything else .

2008 Jose Michel bdb, should have went longer on this. Greg said they sold through more than 25 cases in a day.